How a Kids Dentist Can Tell If Your Child Has Healthy Dental Development
Every child develops differently, but their dental development should follow a general guideline. To help you know what to expect with your child’s teeth, check out these helpful hints from family dentistry experts.
The Need to Nurture Baby Teeth
Even though baby teeth are only temporary, pediatric dentist specialists say that they require tender loving care. Baby teeth are important to a child’s dental development for a number of reasons, including:
- Allowing the child to develop healthy permanent teeth.
- Reserving enough space for the permanent teeth.
- Giving the face a normal appearance.
- Enabling clear speech.
- Ensuring good nutrition because decayed or missing teeth can affect proper chewing.
The Basics on Baby Teeth
According to kids dentist professionals, baby teeth begin to come in at around six months of age. The first teeth to emerge are the two lower front teeth, followed by the four front teeth on top. Then, the rest of the teeth slowly come in, with all 20 baby teeth in by the time the child is age two or three. Interestingly, family dentistry experts report that girls generally start getting their teeth before boys. Make sure that your child sees a pediatric dentist by their first birthday to ensure proper dental development.
Guidelines for Growth
At around age four, a child’s facial bones and jaw start to grow. This leaves spaces between their baby teeth, which provides the extra room for the larger permanent teeth to comfortably come in. Some parents start to worry when these see these spaces, but a pediatric dentist will tell you that it’s a normal and natural part of dental development. Expect the baby teeth to remain until the child is around six years old and they begin to be replaced by the permanent teeth. Kids dentists say that children should have all of their permanent teeth by the time they are 12 years old.
